All The World's A Balance Beam
by IcePrincess013
Summary: Sequel to Life Is A Jungle Gym. Kayla Knight is looking forward to spending Christmas with her family, but when someone from her past shows up and divides her family, will she be able to balance gymnastics, her boyfriend, and her family?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I'M BACK! I know it's been a long time and I said I was going to upload this story by the end of the summer, but as you can see… that didn't work out. Anyway, here is the long awaited sequel to Life Is A Jungle Gym. If you haven't read that story, I would highly recommend doing so. If you don't, the story probably won't make that much sense. But if you have, and you've been waiting forever to read this, I apologize for taking forever.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own BTR

**Summary**: Sequel to Life Is A Jungle Gym. Kayla Knight is looking forward to spending Christmas with her family, but when someone from her past shows up and divides her family, will she be able to balance gymnastics, her boyfriend, and her family?

**Chapter one. A cold winter afternoon in London...**

"Yes, I may meet a million pretty girls that know my name

But don't you worry

Cause you have my heart…"

Once again, I was listening to Worldwide by Big Time Rush. The song they had written for me. Last summer had been amazing. Especially the six days I got to spend with my brother, Kendall, my boyfriend, James, and my two best friends, Logan and Carlos. So much had happened in those six days… The rest of the summer, I had the time of my life at a summer camp for soon-to-be-elite gymnasts in London, where I go to boarding school. The decision to go to the camp was definitely worth it. Sure, I've had to work a lot harder and longer, but now I'm so much closer to my dream.

It's winter now in London. I haven't seen the guys since then and I miss them terribly.

James and I are still dating. I've been really busy with gymnastics, James has been really busy with Big Time Rush, and with the eight hour time difference it's been hard to keep up our relationship, but with web chats and phone calls we've been able to keep in touch.

I was staring at the picture frame the guys had given me before I left. Right on schedule, my web chat window blinked and, clicking on it, James's face filled the screen.

"Hey, Ladybug." James greeted smiling. From what I could tell, it looked like he was sitting at the kitchen counter in apartment 2J.

"Hey, James." I said. I was on my bed in my gymnastics sweatpants and a t-shirt, finishing up my homework. It was eight in the evening in London, while in LA it was about noon.

"How was your day?" He asked me.

"It was good. I just got back from practice. We learned new floor routines today."

"That's great." James got an excited look on his face. "Oh, guess what?"

"What?" I asked, cupping my chin in my hand.

"You have to guess." He told me, laughing.

"Umm… I have the best boyfriend ever?" He smiled.

"Well, yes, but that's not what I was going to say." He said, laughing. "We talked to Gustavo today, and for the last stop on the world tour, we're coming to London!" I was so excited.

"Seriously? You guys are coming to London?"

"Yeah, the concert is the twentieth of December and guess who has backstage passes..."

"Yes!" I calculated the days; It was in exactly one week. I was going to see James in person in a week! "That's the first day of break and the day after my meet. That's perfect."

"I know!" James said. He sounded really happy. "I can't wait to see you!"

I heard Kendall's voice in the background asking, "Is that Kayla?" James nodded and suddenly Kendall's face was taking up most of the screen. "Hey, Monkey!" He shouted.

I laughed. "You know that there are speakers so that I don't have to hear you from all the way in LA, right?"

"So, did you hear the good news?" Kendall asked, still taking up most of the screen.

"Yeah! I can't wait to see you guys!" I was so beyond excited. Something crashed in the background and both Kendall and James cringed.

"We better go." They both said at the same time.

"Alright, bye guys." I said laughing. As I closed my laptop my roommate and best friend here in London, Emma Huntington, came in.

"Who was that?" She asked. Emma was born in the states, but grew up all over the world. Her dad was the head of some huge internet company, so he travelled a lot. By looking at my face, she could tell that I had been on web chat, because it was around the normal time on Saturday night.

"James and Kendall." I told her, as I looked over at my monkey with the Big Time Rush T-shirt, which reminded me... "Oh, and guess what! Big Time Rush is ending their world tour with a concert in London!" I practically squealed the last part, I was so happy.

"OMG! No way! That is so awesome! We are def going to see them!" Emma was so excited. She had become obsessed with Big Time Rush ever since I brought her back the autographed picture. "Will I get to meet them? Do you get like backstage passes or something? Of course you do! What am I thinking. I mean Kendall is your brother and James is your boyfriend. I'm going to get to meet Big Time Rush!" Whenever Emma was excited she would start babbling. It was very entertaining.

When she was finished, she plopped down next to me on my bed. "So, I think we need to celebrate! We should go shopping tomorrow!" Emma's answer for everything was shopping. You're sad? Let's go shopping it will cheer you up! You're happy? Let's go shopping to celebrate. You're bored? Let's go shopping!

Emma is a gymnast too; we compete on the same team. Emma was a great gymnast, but she wasn't here on scholarship. Her parents were filthy rich and she got pretty much everything she wanted. Only problem was she hated that. She chose to compete in gymnastics because when she won, she felt like she had actually earned it.

"Yeah, we'll go shopping tomorrow." I agreed. I was so happy about seeing the guys I didn't care what we did.

"Do you have this in pink?" Emma asked the sales assistant at the small boutique in downtown London, the next day. This was her favorite store, so we always stopped by and bought at least one thing. "Oh!" She suddenly squealed. "You _have_ to buy this! It looks so good on you!" Emma held up a sparkly diamond bracelet. I put it on my wrist, then turned over the price tag. _Way_ out of my price range. Just like pretty much everything else in that boutique. Anyway, it wasn't my style. I was definitely not into sparkles, except for makeup for meets.

"I don't think so." I told her as I gently placed it back on the counter. I reached in my pocket to check my cell for the time, but I realized, sadly, that I had left it in the dorm. Emma would shop all day if she could. With the shopping and the looming BTR concert, I couldn't help but think that it was going to be a long day.

After the boutique, Emma and I decided to walk around. The sky was cloudy and the snow on the ground had turned gray. I zipped my blue North Face jacket up to my neck to escape the chill. I looked over at Emma. She was wearing a cream colored pea coat, dark skinny jeans, and Ugg boots. In her hands were multiple shopping bags from the various stores we had been to.

"So," Emma started, "what are you doing for winter break?"

"I'm going back to LA with the guys to spend the holidays with my family. What about you?"

"I think Daddy is going to be in Tokyo." Emma said, then reconsidered. "Or Moscow. But my mom is going to be at our cabin in the Alps, so I think that's where I'll be spending most of the break. " By 'cabin' she meant mansion. The Huntington's owned about five different houses around the world. Each one bigger then the next. Mr. Huntington travelled a lot and earned a ton of money, so having a house in the countries he visited for work just made sense. Emma continued, "Hopefully there will be some cute guys at the lodge." She continued on about skiing and sitting by the fireplace. It reminded me of winters in Minnesota; always freezing cold.

"Look! Big Time Rush is on the cover of that magazine!" Emma pointed to a bright pink teen magazine with the words "Big Time Rush" on it. We were too far away from the magazine stand to tell what the article was about, but when ever we see news about Big Time Rush, we get excited and _have_ to read it.

Suddenly, Emma stopped walking toward the magazine stand and said, "You know what? Who cares what that article says. We're going to see them in person in about a week, right?" She put her arm around my shoulder and started steering me in the opposite direction, away from the magazine stand. "Those gossip magazines are just filled with false information anyway." Emma continued. "Why bother reading them when we know the truth?" Another thing about Emma: She babbles when she's nervous, too.

I could tell she was purposefully trying to get me away from the magazine stand. "Emma, what's going on?" I asked laughing. I turned around and headed back to the magazine stand. Emma tried to stop me, but I was stronger, so she ended up following me.

When we finally reached the magazine stand, I understood why Emma had tried to keep me from seeing the magazine.

On the cover was a picture of James, _my James_, kissing another girl.

**Author's note**: So… did you like it? Was it worth the wait? I hope you liked it! Please, please, please REVIEW and let me know what you think! Any suggestions are welcome!


	2. I Can Explain

**Author's note: **Hey guys! Thank you so much to LexidaLou, AmeeraMaslow, izzydot, and Jeremy Shane for reviewing the first chapter! I'm so glad you guys like the story so far! Now read on to find out how James is going to explain…****

**Disclaimer: **I don't own BTR… Yet…

**Chapter two. "I can explain."**

Recap: On the cover was a picture of James, _my James,_ kissing another girl.

I stared at the magazine in silence. I couldn't believe it. Why would James do something like that?

"I'm sure there's an explanation." Emma said, comfortingly, putting her hand on my shoulder. I quickly flipped to the page with the full article on it. The title read, "Is Bri Waller James Diamond's new girl?" I pointed to the title and held it up to Emma's face, but she just shook her head and pushed the magazine away.

I started reading the article:

_Bri Waller, the overnight singing sensation, has been seen hanging around the boys of Big time Rush a lot lately, but it seems she has been spending extra time with James Diamond. -_

I was interrupted when Emma stole the magazine from my hands. "What? Let me finish." I protested.

"No. It will just make you upset over nothing. Why don't you call James first?" She offered, rationally.

"I left my cell at the dorm. Can I use yours?"

"Mine is getting the diamonds glued back on." Emma told me. Yes. She had diamonds glued to her phone. "When we get back to the dorm, we'll call the guys and hear the story from _them_. Not some trashy gossip magazine that prints mostly lies, anyway."

"But what if James really is-" I started.

"No. Kay, you can't start jumping to conclusions with only part of the information."

"But-"

"No." Emma insisted on putting the magazine back, and when you have mastered the fine art of getting everything you want (even if you don't like it), the skill comes in handy in situations like this. I didn't stand a chance.

"Fine." I pouted. We headed back to the dorm and, I have to admit, I walked a little faster than normal.

When we finally got to the dorm, I raced over to my nightstand and unplugged the charger from my cell. I quickly dialed James's cell phone number and waited impatiently as it rang.

After a series of long rings, I heard James's voice on the other end, "Hey, it's James."

"James, you would not believe-" I started, but was quickly cut off.

"I can't come to the phone right now-" I slammed my cell shut. It was his answering machine. I plopped down on my bed and looked at Emma who had just finished placing her various shopping bags beside her desk.

"He didn't answer my call!" I complained, slightly angry. "Can I jump to conclusions _now_?" I let myself fall on my back on the fluffy comforter of my bed. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been. James had millions of fans dying to meet him back in the states, while I was all the way in London. I should have known our long distance relationship was too good to be true.

"Maybe…" By the tone of her voice, I could tell Emma was thinking. "Kendall!" She suddenly shouted. I propped myself up on my elbows and gave her a confused look. "Call Kendall!" I considered that, and picked my phone back up. "I mean, he has to answer your call, right? You're his little sister." The tone of her voice just screamed, "I'm a genius."

I tried to laugh, but noticed that tears had started to form. I pulled my legs close to my chest and felt a hot tear slowly roll down my cheek. I felt so stupid. Emma came to sit next to me on my bed as we waited for Kendall to answer. She put her arm around my shoulders, comfortingly.

"Hey, Monkey!" Kendall's cheery voice startled me. "Hello?"

"Please don't say 'I told you so'." I could hear my voice crack.

Kendall's voice was full of concern as he asked, "What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I just saw a picture of James kissing another girl on the cover of a magazine."

"I can't believe him." Kendall muttered, and I realized it must have been true. The tears came faster now. "James!" I heard Kendall yell, then, not talking into the phone he asked, "You didn't warn her?" Their voices faded so that I couldn't hear them.

"Wait." I said into the phone, wanting to know what was going on, "Warn me about what?"

"Ladybug, this is just a misunderstanding." It was James. "I can explain." I sure hoped he had a good excuse.

"So explain." I said, a little harsher than I had meant to be.

"It was for the music video for our new song "Stuck". The director wanted to end it with a kiss. We kissed once for the video and that was the end of it. Nothing more. I promise."

"You kissed her?" I asked, well… screamed.

"No! Well, yes… but it wasn't like that!" James frustrated tone changed to a softer one. "Ladybug, I love you. You know that. I would never do anything to hurt you. I only kissed her because I had to, and it was only once. I haven't even seen her since the shoot."

"And your sure that's all?"

"Yes. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course, I trust you." Then muttered under my breath, "It's Bri Waller I don't trust."

"Are you okay, now?"

"Yeah, sorry." I wiped away the last of my tears. "I was just shocked when I saw the picture. I should have know it wasn't anything."

"Alright, I love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." With that I hung up. I let out a sigh of relief I didn't even know I was holding.

"So?" Emma asked, turning me to face her. I forgot she could only hear one side of the conversation.

"Music video." I said with a slight laugh.

"I told you!" Emma went to sit on her own bed. "You got yourself all worked up over nothing." She took out her journal and started writing in it with a particularly fluffy pen, while I got out my notebook and started my homework.

As I was working my mind started to drift. Back to last summer. Back to James kissing me goodbye in the airport. Back to the guys singing Worldwide to me at the recording studio. Back to the rink where James had spun me in circles. Back to the fair. The concert. Our first kiss. The home video. James…

**Author's note:** So… What did you think? Do you believe James? Please REVIEW!


	3. Big Time Meet

**Authors Note: **Hey guys! Thank you so much to LexidaLou, AmeeraMaslow, izzydot, and MissGleekKoleTigerBabe for reviewing chapter 2! So, for the record, I don't know much about gymnastics. Most of the information in here is from stuff I found on the internet. The rest I made up or tweaked to make it work with the story. If any of you guys are gymnasts and get offended, I apologize!

**Disclaimer: Yeah… still don't own BTR…**

**Chapter three. Big Time Meet**

That week before the concert seemed to drag on forever. It was full of studying for midterms, gymnastics, and cold weather. I had gotten a package in the mail, a few days prior, that had the Big Time Rush concert tickets and backstage passes in it. When Emma and I opened it and found out what was inside, we were so excited we jumped and danced around our dorm. Then went shopping to celebrate.

Mom had called and filled me in on all of the details about break. The concert was Saturday, so early Sunday morning the five of us would board the airplane for an 8 hour flight to Minnesota. When we got there, James, Carlos, and Logan would get off so they could spend the holidays with their parents, and Kendall and I would get on another plane for the 4 hour flight to LA so we could spend the holidays with Mom and Katie. It sounded really confusing, but Mom assured me it would be easier once we were actually leaving, and Katie reminded me, jokingly, that the alternative was to spend Christmas alone in London. So I was pretty happy with the arrangement.

On Friday, I arrived at the gymnastics meet early, as usual. I was dressed in my team competition leo - Navy blue on one half and silver on the other with swirls in the middle mixing the two colors together- with matching warm ups on top of it. I really loved the new leotards. We had had a half day at school that day because of winter break and right after my last midterm, I had gone straight to the gym.

I headed to the floor to get warmed up. I saw a few of my teammates sitting in a circle, so I sat down with them. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Coach Harrington talking with some of the other coaches. I stretched my splits and took deep breaths trying to calm my nerves. Normally I don't get too nervous about meets, but with everything that had been going on, I felt like I hadn't been able to focus on gymnastics as much as I would have liked to.

"So what are you guys doing for break?" My teammate Lydia, or 'Pretzel' as we called her, asked in her thick British accent (Of course in London,_ I_ was the one with the accent) when she came out of a walkover.

"My family and I" Libby, who we had nicknamed 'Gumby', started, "are going back to the states to spend the holidays with our grandparents in Vermont."

"Our cousins are coming over to our house for Christmas, and then we're spending New Year's at their house." Maisie, known to her teammates as 'Flexie', said, then went into a handstand.

"What about you, Jumping Bean?" Pretzel asked me as she stretched her arms. "Where are you going for break?"

I was stretching out my splits and thinking so much about my routines that I barely heard her question. "Back to LA." I said simply. I really just wanted to focus and try to "get in the zone" as Coach Harrington called it. Break was the thing I was trying to keep as far away from my thoughts as possible.

"You're so lucky! I wish I was going somewhere warm!" Libby told me. I smiled. As much as I knew I was going to miss celebrating Christmas in Minnesota, there was one thing I knew I wouldn't miss: The freezing cold weather.

"Knight!" I was startled out of my daydream by my couch calling my name from across the floor. I turned to see Coach Harrington gesturing me to come over to him. I jumped up and crossed the spongy floor.

"What's up?" I asked when I reached him.

"I was just talking with some of the judges and they said that since this competition is part of the International Elite Program, if you receive an all around score 35.00 or above, you will qualify as an elite gymnast, and be able to compete as an elite in your next meet."

"Really?" By tonight I could be an elite gymnast! I was beyond excited. If I was an elite gymnast I would be halfway to my dream of being an Olympic gymnast.

"Yeah." Coach Harrington smiled. "I know you'll do great. So just go out there and do your best."

"Thanks, Coach!" I ran back to my teammates and saw that Emma had arrived. "Guess what!" I said in an extremely hyper voice.

"You just ate twenty pixie sticks?" Emma guessed, laughing. I shook my head and told them what Coach had said. Everyone congratulated me and gave me high fives.

About an hour later I was saluting the judges to signal the start of my beam routine. I could hear my teammates cheering for me on the sidelines. I took a deep breath.

I mounted the beam and began the choreography that I had been going over and over in my head for the past week.

The routine started off with some fluffy dance stuff: Raising my arms, flicking my wrist, popping my hip. Then I moved on to some of the more important elements. My full turn was a little wobbly, as usual, but the split jump that followed was better than I had expected it to be. Then my hardest element: back handspring back layout step out. I executed it perfectly! A full turn later, I did a back tuck straddle jump. After that I did a little more connective dance making sure it was sharp, to get into the right position for the dismount. I did a round off full and a half twist dismount and, thankfully, stuck the landing.

I quickly saluted the judges then ran over to my teammates who had been waiting in a line on the sidelines. They all gave me high fives and congratulated me. I breathed a sigh of relief and waited for my scores.

As I watched the judges, anxiously awaiting my scores, I couldn't help but notice a large sign that read "Stick it Monkey! You're Halfway There!" held by four boys I knew too well. I couldn't help but laugh and wave at them. My nerves had seemed to vanish despite how much was weighing on this meet, but that's what the guys did: Make me laugh so I wasn't nervous.

As my score lit up on the screen, I breathed a sigh of relief: 9.525. It was the best score I had ever received for beam. I was so excited. My teammates pulled me into a group hug and we started jumping up and down._ I might actually do this_, I though. _By tonight, I could be an elite gymnast!_

My last event was vault. My scores on bars and floor had both been excellent: 9.425 and 9.475 respectively. All I needed was a score of at least 6.757 and I would be an elite! I wasn't nervous at all after I had figured that out, because vault is one of my better apparatuses; I usually scored at least an 8.

Emma gave me a high five, while my other teammates shouted encouragement, and I walked over to the runway. I saluted the judges and took a deep breath. I stepped onto the runway and made sure I was in the correct place. I had marked the place with chalk a few minutes before. I ran down the long runway, hurdled onto the springboard, and reached my hands onto the horse. I kicked my heels up and over my head, trying to maintain a pencil-straight body, tightly closed legs, and pointed toes as I flipped in the air. I was striving for explosive power, height, and distance for the dismount. My feet landed on the mat and I stuck the landing.

I couldn't believe how well I had done! I was so excited I almost forgot to salute the judges. For once the huge smile I gave the judges wasn't fake.

My teammates congratulated me and I could hear Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos cheering me on from the stands.

Libby and Emma were holding my hands and they kept squeezing them as we anxiously awaited my scores.

9.500 flashed on the score board and I exploded. My teammates and I started jumping up and down, crazier than before, and screamed. My all around score of 37.925 flashed on the screen confirming that I was now an elite gymnast.

I was an _elite _gymnast.

_I _was an elite gymnast.

I was an _elite gymnast_.

Author's Note: Alright :) What did you think? Kayla will meet up with the guys in the next chapter! Also, I would like to credit LexidaLou (A.K.A my best friend in the whole wide world and a galaxy far, far away) for giving me the idea for the sign the guys hold up at the meet! Thank you Lex! Please REVIEW and tell me what you think!


	4. Big Time Tourists

**Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers! I apologize for taking forever to upload a chapter, but with the holidays and school work I've been extremely busy. So without further ado, here's chapter 4! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own BTR.**

**Chapter four. Big Time Tourists**

"Congratulations, Monkey!" Kendall said as he picked me up and spun me around. A few minutes earlier I had stood on the podium and received my gold medals for beam and all around. I was so excited I could hardly stand still. I had just won two gold medals, graduated to an elite gymnast and my brother, my boyfriend and our two best friends had just surprised me at my meet. This day couldn't have been better.

But before I could think too much, James stole me from Kendall and softly kissed me on the lips. Time slowed down and the earth stopped spinning. My mind went blank, in a good way, as it always did when James kissed me. After the kiss James and I just stared at each other, smiling. I couldn't believe we hadn't really seen each other in more than half a year. I had missed him so much. This moment didn't seem real. In that moment I forgot all about stupid Bri Waller.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked as I absentmindedly hugged Logan and Carlos.

Logan started, "Well, our concert in London is tomorrow."

"And we realized your big meet was today," Carlos told me.

James said, "So we decided to come surprise you."

"Because we all missed you." Kendall finished.

I could feel tears forming in my eyes as they gathered me up in one of their classic group hugs. It had been so long since I had truly seen any of them, and I had missed them and their crazy antics terribly.

"Well, it's pretty late." Kendall said, checking his watch. He always had to be the responsible one, and that's understandable seeing who he hung out with. "We should probably let you get some sleep before the big day tomorrow." I gave him a questioning look. "Tomorrow you get to give Big Time Rush a tour of London."

"We're giving Big Time Rush a tour of London?" Emma was ecstatic when I told her the next day. She immediately went to our closet and started rummaging through her many designer clothes and holding them up to look at herself in the mirror.

"Yeah, I can't wait for you to meet them." I told her.

"_You_ can't wait for me to meet them?_ I_ can't wait for me to meet them! This is going to be so amazing!" I laughed at her excitement. I had known Big Time Rush since we were little; they still didn't really seem like celebrities to me. The fact that Emma and many other teenage girls were dying to meet them, still seemed funny to me.

About an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Big Time Rush was about to get a big time tour of London.

"Imagine how cold this water must be right now…" Carlos said as he looked over the rail at the river Thames. It was extremely cold out- a typical London winter afternoon.

"Probably freezing." Logan said, looking out at the river.

"Alright let's see how cold it is." Kendall said as he picked me up and half-dangled me over the railing of the river Thames.

"No! No! No!" I protested as I squirmed. Eventually he brought me back and put me back down. "You're so mean." I pouted.

Emma shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Oh, it's so cold." I looked at her- she couldn't possibly be cold in the expensive winter coat she was wearing. Carlos suddenly appeared at her side and started wrapping his coat around her and I realized why she had said that. Emma was always the flirty type.

After that little side trip we all loaded up the tour bus- yes, the guys had brought an actual_ tour bus_ to London!- and started the adventure. The guys acted like little kids on Christmas morning; Everywhere we went they found something touristy to look at.

"Oooo! Look at the castle!" Carlos said, pointing out the window.

"Guys, I'm excited to see Big Ben." Kendall informed us.

"Is that the thing at the top?" James asked.

"No it's actually not the top, Big Ben is the bell inside of the tower." Kendall said. I was impressed at how much he knew about the city. Logan was usually the smart one. He must have studied the tour guide book he had bought when him, Mom, and Katie visited me last.

Carlos seemed impressed, too."Full of information this guy."

"Personal tour guide." James remarked. I gave him a face;_ I_ was supposed to be their tour guide. He kissed me quickly on the lips. "You're okay, too." He joked and I playfully smacked his arm.

"Wait, wait, wait. Isn't that it, up ahead?" Logan pointed out.

"Oh wow." Carlos said.

"That is big isn't it." Kendall said.

"Why don't we go check out the guard-" I started to suggest.

"The royal guard?" Kendall interrupted.

"No the color guard. Of course the royal guard!" I rolled my eyes. We were in London, what other guard is there?

"Oh yeah! They don't move." Carlos told us. "No matter what you do, they just stand there. I saw a Youtube video about it once." Of course Carlos learned it on Youtube.

"We should try to make them laugh." James suggested.

"Well, good luck with that." I said. "Emma and I tried that once- they didn't even crack a smile."

"Are you saying you don't think we can make them laugh?" Kendall asked, feigning insult.

"I feel a bet coming on…" Logan smiled.

Kendall got straight to business. "Twenty bucks says we can get them to smile."

"Guys," Emma started, "They're like trained professionals."

"So you accept the bet?" Carlos asked.

"Deal." Emma and I said at the same time.

_20 minutes later…_

"Ahhhhh!" Carlos jumped out from behind a guard in an attempt to get him to move.

"This is never going to work…" I insisted. They had been at it for ten minutes already and the guards hadn't moved an inch or cracked a smile. I was worried they were going to get arrested or something. Carlos had tried so many lame knock-knock jokes that I was sure the guards would smile or move just so that Carlos would go away. Logan had convinced James to do his "pretty face" and tried to come up with a scientific way of making the guards move.

"Oh, they'll move…" Kendall said in a creepily determined voice. "I've got an idea."

"Uh oh… This can't be good." I whispered to Emma.

Kendall started snapping his fingers to a beat and then started singing a song I never thought I'd hear again…

"Oh you're such a terd, oh yeah a giant terd…" The Giant Terd song… Kendall was singing the _Giant Terd_ song in _public_ in the middle of _London_… As long as I have known the guys, and as well as I know them, they never cease to surprise me.

James and Carlos joined in with some harmony, and Logan started to beat box. In true BTR style, the guys rocked out to the stupidest song I have ever heard. And guess what… after about two verses the royal guard couldn't take it any longer; He finally laughed.

I am happy to say I lost that bet. It was so worth the $20.

**Author's Note: So I got some of the inspiration for the BTR tourist thing from a youtube video I had watched documenting BTR's actual trip to London, but they didn't sing the giant terd song… That was all me :) I really hope you liked it! Please REVIEW! Oh, and Lex, that little bit about guard… yeah that was for you! Shout out to any readers who are guardies!**


	5. Big Time Concert London Style

**Author's Note: Thanks for everyone who reviewed! I'm so glad you guys like this story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own BTR.**

**Chapter five. Big Time Concert- London Style**

Touring London with Emma and the guys had been amazing! I couldn't believe that the day was only half over. The final concert of Big Time Rush's worldwide tour was just destined to be incredible.

"I can't believe this is the last concert of our tour. It seems like we just started. I just wish it didn't have to end." Kendall told me as the guys were getting ready to go on stage.

"I can't wait to spend Christmas with you too." I said in a mocking voice. He had been on tour and I had been at boarding school; We'd both been too busy for pretty much anything else. It would be nice to have a break to spend some time with family for once.

"You know what I mean." He said, smiling, ruffling my hair. I quickly fixed it, thinking that James might see my hair messed up. Kendall caught on to what I was doing and "Awwww"ed at me as I walked over to James, rolling my eyes.

"So, are you excited for the concert?" I asked, hugging him.

"Yes, but I'm more excited for the week after Christmas that we get to spend together." James said, picking me up and spinning me around. When he finally stopped, I smiled up at him.

"I know; I can't wait!" Just then a voice over the loud speaker, in a British accent, called BTR to the stage.

"Alright, this is it!" Kendall shouted, excited.

"See you out there." I told James and quickly kissed him. I found Emma over by Logan and Carlos, who were obviously trying to impress her. "Come on, we don't want to miss the concert."

If possible, British teenage girls are even bigger Big Time Rush fans then the girls back in The States. There were hundreds of girls with posters of every size, promoting every guy. Emma and I had seats right up front by the stage and as soon as the stage lit up Emma went wild. I had never seen her so excited for anything in her whole life- not even when Coach came out with shoes that matched her favorite purse.

The guys ran out on stage and started singing their most famous song, "Oh, Oh, Oooh, Oh…" As great as it had been to see them and tour London with the guys that day, seeing them on stage was even better. They had improved so much since the previous summer; They looked like naturals and owned the stage.

"Go and shake it up, what you gotta lose?

Go and make your luck with the life you choose.

If you want it all, lay it on the line.

It's the only life you got so you gotta live it Big Time ."

The advice Kendall had given me last summer about taking a chance and going after my dream, had truly paid off. I was so thankful of him; I took his advice and was now an _elite_ gymnast! I definitely owed him one.

"Look around,

every light is shining now, its brighter somehow.

Look around,

nothing's really as it seems, nothing but dreams.

You and I are

Gonna make a brand new sound, like we own this town.

We can fly,

now I've made it off the ground, never look down.

Welcome to the Big Time,

All the pretty people see you walkin' in the sunshine

Welcome to the good times,

Life will never be the same!"

At this point the guys all burst out into a series of back flips, and I laughed, remembering teaching them how to do them on the trampoline when we were younger. Kendall refused to for the longest time, because he insisted that back flips were for girls, but eventually he joined in too. Now the four of them looked like pros.

"If you want it all, lay it on the line.

It's the only life you got, so you gotta live it Big Time!"

The crowd went wild as they sang the last notes of Big Time Rush.

"Thank you London!" Kendall said, then bent down to give the front row high-fives.

Carlos pointed out to the crowd and said, "You guys are the best! Love you guys!"

They sang through The City is Ours, Big Night, This is our Someday, and Till I Forget About You. The crowd was loving them, and I was too. They really were amazing. Emma sang along to every note of every song. It made me happy seeing how excited she got over seeing the guys perform. To me, it was still a little weird to see girls freaking out over the guys I grew up with, but I had to admit it was pretty cool knowing famous people.

"Now, this next song is dedicated to a girl who is very dear to our hearts." James started. "She came to London to pursue her dream of being an Olympic gymnast, leaving the four of us in a studio in LA. But, before she got away, we wrote this next song for her. Kayla, why don't you come on up here?"

I was shocked that James had actually asked for me to come up on stage. I had a flashback to the first BTR concert I went to at the fair when James pulled me up on stage and asked me to be his girlfriend. Somehow I managed to remember the sweet look in his eyes, and not how angry Kendall had been right after. James walked to the edge of the stage and offered me a hand. I accepted it and he pulled me up.

Logan had pulled a chair out to center stage and motioned for me to sit in it. I gave him a questioning look, wanting to know what was going on, but he made no motion that showed he had seen it. Soon, each of the guys had their own chairs and were sitting in a semicircle, with me in the middle, facing the audience. The lights on the stage were so bright I couldn't see the audience at all.

Kendall sat down to my left and I whispered, "What's going on?"

He just smirked and responded, "You'll see." I rolled my eyes. Each of the guys took their seats, James to my right took my hand in his, and the beginning notes of "Worldwide" came through the speakers.

James started singing to me, "Wait a minute. Before you tell me anything, how was your day? Cause I've been missing.."

"You by my side, yeah." Kendall chimed in.

"Did I awake you out of your dreams? Sorry, but I couldn't sleep." James continued.

"You calm me down there's something 'bout the sound of your voice." Kendall sang. I smiled and remembered just how much I had missed these guys.

Then Carlos and Logan came in, "Never, never. Never as far away as it may seem. Soon we'll be together..."

"We'll pick up right where we left off." James and the other guys sang right to me. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world having four guys that really cared for me. I couldn't wait to see what crazy things we would do this winter break. "Paris, London, Tokyo, there's just one thing that I gotta do. "

Everyone came in, singing, "Tuck you in every night (on the phone) Hello, tuck you in every night."

"And I can hardly take another goodbye. Babe, it won't be long. You're the one that I'm waiting on." James's eyes always lit up when he sang, and, instead of looking sad like the last time he sang it to me, he looked happy.

"Tuck you in every night (on the phone) Whoa." Everyone sang.

Logan came in with, "Girl, I'll be thinking about you Worldwide, Worldwide, Worldwide."

"Girl, I'll be thinking about you,"

"Worldwide, Worldwide, Worldwide."

"Girl, I'll be thinking about you."

"Yes, I may, meet a million pretty girls that know my name." Logan sang. Of course, that line made me think of the magazine I had seen earlier with James kissing another girl. It had made me so jealous. "But don't you worry,"

Kendall chimed in, "'Cause you have my heart." He put both hands over his heart, then held them out to me.

"It ain't easy to keep it movin' city to city just get up and go." Logan sang.

"The show must go on, so I need you to be strong."

Carlos sang into the microphone, "Never, never…"

"Never as far away as it may seem." Logan came in.

"Soon we'll be together,"

"We'll pick up right where we left off."

James sang the chorus, "Paris, London, Tokyo. There's just one thing that I gotta do."

Then everyone came in, "Tuck you in every night (on the phone) Hello, tuck you in every night."

"And I can hardly take another goodbye. Babe, it won't be long." James leaned in closer to me and lightly squeezed my hand which he was still holding, "You're the one that I'm waiting on."

"Tuck you in every night (on the phone) Whoa…"

Logan sang, "Girl, I'll be thinking about you Worldwide, Worldwide, Worldwide."

" I'll be thinking about you…"

"Worldwide, Worldwide, Worldwide."

Carlos came in with, "Oh, wherever the wind blows me, you're still the one and only girl on my mind."

James sang, "Know, there ain't no one better. So always remember, Always remember. Girl, you're mine!" Then James leaned in and kissed me. Right there on stage in front of everyone. And of course I kissed him back. The crowd, who I thought had already been cheering loud, exploded.

James and I smiled at each other as the rest of the guys sang, "Paris, London, Tokyo. There's just one thing that I gotta do. Tuck you in every night (on the phone) Hello tuck you in every night."

Then James sang, "And I can hardly take another goodbye. Babe, it won't be long. You're the one that I'm waiting on."

"Tuck you in every night (on the phone) Yeah."

Logan sang into the microphone, "Girl, I'll be thinking about you Worldwide, Worldwide, Worldwide…"

"Girl, I'll be thinking about you,"

"Worldwide, Worldwide, Worldwide…"

"Girl, I'll be thinking about you."

James sang, "Worldwide…"

"Yes, I may, meet a million pretty girls that know my name. But don't you worry," Logan came in.

" 'Cause you have my heart…" They all finished, pointing at me. I smiled. I smiled so big I probably looked like a dork, but I didn't care. I was just so thankful to have these four guys that cared so much about me, and I could not wait to spend the whole winter break with them.

**Author's Note: So what did you think? Please review! :)**


	6. Big Time Flight

**Author's Note: Hello my wonderful readers! :) Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I love you guys! I don't really have anything else to say, except that I hope you like this chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own BTR… :(**

**Chapter 6. Big Time Flight.**

Mom had called and filled me in on all of the details about break. The concert was Saturday, so early Sunday morning the five of us would board the airplane for an 8 hour flight to Minnesota. When we got there, James, Carlos, and Logan would get off so they could spend the holidays with their parents, and Kendall and I would get on another plane for the 4 hour flight to LA so we could spend the holidays with Mom and Katie. It sounded really confusing, but Mom assured me it would be easier once we were actually leaving, and Katie reminded me, jokingly, that the alternative was to spend Christmas alone in London. So I was pretty happy with the arrangement.

The next morning, I packed me suitcase while listening to Big Time Rush songs. Emma sang along to every word, though when I woke her up at 7 that morning to get ready, she had been quite upset with me for not letting her sleep in on the first day of break. She practically burst my eardrum last night at the concert after I got off the stage and kept screaming about how awesome it was. And then she didn't stop talking about it until 3am. I didn't mind it that much, though. It had been pretty awesome.

Just as I was zipping up my suitcase there came a knock on our door. Emma shrieked with excitement and then whispered to me excitedly, "Do you think it's one of _them_?" 'Them' meaning BTR. I laugh and roll my eyes at her excitement as I go to open the door. To me, they were like brothers; it still seemed weird to think of them as famous.

When I opened the door, I saw Kendall standing there in an old Minnesota Wild sweatshirt.

"Hey, Monkey." He greeted and pulled me into a hug. While he was lowered to my level (He's 6' and I'm only about 5'2), I took the opportunity to pull off his horrible woolen beanie. "Hey!" He tried to grab it back from me but I held it firmly behind my back and away from him.

"Why do you insist on wearing these things?" I held it out by two fingers, indicating my disgust. "They're hideous."

Kendall took the opportunity to snatch the beanie back and put it back on his head. "What, you don't like it?" I just rolled my eyes and turned to grab my stuff. "Because according to PopTiger magazine, all the girls love them."

I noticed Emma sitting on her bed staring at us. "Emma, what do you think?" She seemed startled, but quickly put on her flirty face.

"Oh, I love guys that wear beanies. They are like so totally in this year. Everyone's wearing them."

Then I got an idea. While Kendall was distracted by Emma (which kind of freaked me out), I pulled the beanie off Kendall's head and through it toward Emma. "If you like them so much, why don't you keep Kendall's?"

"What?" They both asked at the same time, looking at me like I had gone crazy.

"OMG, are you like serious? This is totally amazing- I mean, only of it's okay with you…" She looked at Kendall pleadingly, batting her eyelashes.

"Well, yeah, sure." Kendall stuttered, as if in a trance. "I mean, what am I going to do with it anyway ? I have a bunch at home, and you'll probably like it more than I do, so…"

"Alright, we should probably get going." I went over to Emma and gave her a big hug. "Have fun in the Alps. Bring back some snow for me?"

"Only if you bring back some sunshine from LA. Have fun!" She waved at Kendall and I as we left the room, Kendall's beanie still clutched in her hand.

The second the door closed Kendall came out of the trance. "Why did you do that? It's freezing outside. My head is going to get cold!" Kendall complained as we went down the hall.

"Kendall, you have a whole drawer full of them back in LA. Plus, we're going to be spending all of break there where it won't get below 65 degrees. Your head will be fine." I tried to reason with him. "And you saw how happy that made Emma! She has to spend most of break all by herself."

"Oh, yeah. All by herself in a mansion in the Alps." I just rolled my eyes. "So, what time is our flight?"

"Umm…" I took out my ticket from my pocket and read it. "Ten o'clock." I looked at my watch. "We better hurry up."

We met James, Carlos, and Logan outside the dorm buildings by their tour bus. It was a short ride to the airport, but Kendall's complaints about his beanie made it seem a lot longer. When we finally arrived at the airport, we all got out and the guys reluctantly said goodbye to their tour bus.

We breezed through check-in and security and reached the gate just as the announcement came on "Flight 247 to Minnesota now boarding."

"Yes, we made it!" Carlos said.

"Minnesota, here we come!" Logan practically screamed.

We quickly boarded and found our seats with little difficulty.

"Wait, you're famous, and we don't get to sit in coach?" I asked, only half joking.

"Have you met Gustavo?" James joked.

Deciding who got to sit where, was interesting. We had a row of five seats all next to each other: Two next to a window and then three in the middle across a small aisle. Carlos got to our seats first and took the window seat, but Logan wanted the window seat, too, so Logan tried to work his way in, but to no avail. Then Kendall didn't want to sit right next to Carlos because Carlos snores and he always falls asleep on planes. James and I wanted to sit next to each other, but Kendall didn't want to be sitting too far away from us, being the overprotective older brother that he was. So finally, I convinced Carlos and Logan to let James and I sit in the seats by the window because they can see the movie better and they would have a better chance of ending up next to a hot girl if they sat in the middle seats. Kendall reluctantly agreed to the seating arrangement, so the order we sat in for that eight hour flight to Minnesota was me, next to the window, James next to me, Kendall across the aisle next to Logan and Carlos. Needless to say, it was a long flight.

When the stewardess came by us and asked us if there was anything she could get for us, Carlos asked, "Yeah, can I get a corndog?"

The stewardess looked annoyed and told him in a monotone voice, "We don't have any corndogs." She gave us a mean look and headed for the back of the plane.

"What did I say?" Carlos asked us, innocently. The four of us burst out laughing. "What?" That stewardess didn't come by to ask us how we were for the rest of the flight.

Carlos spent most of the flight playing one of his video games. I'm sure you could hear him yelling "Whooo! Next level!" all the way to the front of the plane. Logan was reading a physics book that looked like Greek to me. Every once and a while he would jot something down in his notebook or punch numbers into his calculator. Kendall kept switching between staring at James and I and listening to his iPod, and James and I talked for most of the flight.

I guess I fell asleep at some point, because, next thing I knew, I was waking up to the sound of the pilot coming on over the speakers. "Sorry folks, looks like we're getting some heavy snowfall in Minnesota. We're going to land at the Minneapolis airport, as planned, but no more flights are going to be coming or going from there anytime soon. Sorry for any inconvenience."

I looked over James, to Kendall. Kendall looked as confused as I felt. After the flight to Minnesota, James, Carlos, and Logan were supposed to get off to spend the holidays with their families, and Kendall and I were supposed to get on another plane for the four hour flight to LA so we could spend the holidays with Mom and Katie, but with the weather, it looked like we might be spending the holidays in Minnesota without Mom and Katie. Merry Christmas to us.

**Author's note: Thank you guys so much for reading! Please REVIEW! I love hearing from you guys! :) Hope you liked it!**


	7. Big Time Minnesota

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! :) A HUGE thank you to LexidaLou, sadnessgirl123, JeremyShane, and sailfast32 for reviewing the last chapter! I love hearing from you guys! 3**

**Disclaimer: Nope… still don't own BTR…**

**Chapter Seven. Big Time Minnesota**.

"And you're sure there aren't any flights leaving for California, today?" I asked the lady at the counter in the Minnesota airport.

"Yes, I'm sure. No flights are leaving or coming in, today. And by the looks of the snowfall, there won't be any tomorrow either." She gave me a sympathetic look as I left to rejoin the guys.

"Anything?" Kendall asked, hopefully. I just shook my head. James put his arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

"Well, if you guys can't get there in time for… well, you know," James started, "you're welcome to stay with us." He wiped away the tears I hadn't known had started to fall.

"We'll have another Christmas in Minnesota." Kendall comforted me, pulling me into another hug. "We were going to miss the snow, anyway." I started to laugh.

"Yeah." Carlos agreed. "Why would you want to spend Christmas in a place where there's no snow, like LA?" Then my eyes started to water.

"Carlos!" The guys screamed at him.

"We should probably call Mom and let her know." I said, wiping my eyes, as I got my phone out.

"No, Monkey." Kendall said, his phone already out. "I got it." He dialed a number and started walking away, feigning no service. I knew he just didn't want me to get upset. Kendall was always trying to protect me; After our dad left, he took it upon himself to be the man of the house. He came back, after only a few minutes, and informed us of the plan. "Alright, so since there aren't any planes to LA today, Kayla and I will spend the night at one of your houses, if you guys don't mind."

"Of course, you guys are always welcome." Logan said. James and Carlos quickly agreed.

"Thanks, guys." Kendall told them. "So then, tomorrow morning we'll check to see if there are any flight and go from there."

"Sounds good." I agree.

Logan's phone buzzed and after checking it, he said, "My mom just got here to pick us up. She's meeting us in the front."

"Alright, let's go!" Carlos said. And we headed out into the cold Minnesota air. Or should I say _freezing_ Minnesota air. I had forgotten how cold Minnesota was.

It was good to be back.

Logan's mom was happy to see all of us, and told us that she would be happy to have Kendall and I stay with them that night, and longer if need be. But Mrs. Diamond had other plans.

James was the first to be dropped off and as soon as he told his mom that Kendall and I were stranded in Minnesota, she insisted that we stay at her house. Mrs. Diamond came straight to the car to talk to Logan's mom. She was adamant and, after a short discussion, got what she wanted. You don't tell Mrs. Diamond "no".

Kendall and James helped me grab my suitcase and we headed inside, after saying goodbye to the other guys and making plans to hang out later. I'd forgotten how big James's house was. After all, his mom, Brooke Diamond, is a makeup mogul and has been called the "Estee Lauder of the Midwest". Not only does she always look fabulous, she also earns a fabulous amount of money.

The foyer of James's house has two sweeping staircases and marble flooring. The three of us run up one of the staircases and drop all of our stuff off in the guest room at the top of the stairs.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" James asked us.

Just as Kendall opened his mouth to speak, Mrs. Diamond's voice came drifting up the stairs. "Are you guys hungry? There's plenty of food in the kitchen." We decided to go downstairs and get something to eat, because airplane peanuts simply don't substitute a meal.

When we got down to the kitchen, Mrs. Diamond had her coat and heels on and was gathering up her things. "I have to go meet with a client, but make yourselves at home! I'll be back in a few hours."

We thanked her, and Kendall and James headed for the pantry. We munched on some chips and drank some pop for a few minutes, at which point the phone started ringing.

James picked up the phone and politely said, "Diamond residence, James speaking." Then make a face, demonstrating how much he hated being proper like his mom wanted him to be. But when the person on the other side of the call started talking James's voice changed. "Hey man! What's up?... Uhuh… yeah… okay, cool… alright see you then."

"Who was that?" Kendall asked when James ended the call.

"Logan wants to know if we wanted to go to the old pond and hang out."

"Definitely! Let's go!" Kendall said, already headed up the stairs to put some warmer clothes on. James and I just laughed and followed him. I couldn't wait to go back to the pond where we used to play hockey all winter when we were younger.

Sitting on the bench next to the frozen pond putting on my skates brought me back to the winters the five of us spent out here. I took a deep breath and breathed in the cold air. I really had missed Minnesota while I was away in London. As cold as London was, compared to LA, it didn't hold a candle to Minnesota winters.

The guys had brought all of their hockey equipment with them, and extra for me, in hopes that we could play a game. We skated around a little bit to warm up. It had been a while since any of us had skated. After I got my bearings, I decided to try some stunts. I just loved combining gymnastics and hockey. After a little bit of experimenting I was able to develop a technique to do cartwheels on the ice on my skates. I have to admit, it was pretty sweet.

"Show off." Kendall muttered as he skated past me, then turned back and backwards skated in circles around me. I rolled my eyes and knew what I had to do. I skated to the edge of the pond and carefully got onto the flat slightly snow covered land. I quickly stretched.

"Uh oh…" I heard Carlos say.

"What is she doing now?" James asked my brother.

"I might have accidently called her a show off…" Kendall said.

I did a back hand spring in my skates, but landed a little wobbly. After a few more runs I had it down. I got back onto the ice and skated over to the guys.

"Kayla, don't do this." Kendall asked me. "I didn't mean to challenge you, I swear."

"Too late." I said simply. I flexed my fingers and began to skate backward at a very slow rate. I bent my knees and propelled myself backwards, onto my hands, then snapped my legs down and landed almost perfectly. Cheers erupted from the guys.

Time to kick it up a notch. I knew it was crazy, but I wasn't afraid of falling.

"Kayla, I know what you're thinking. Don't even try it." Logan told me, reading my mind. "The momentum is different and the ice is a lot less forgiving than gym mats."

"Monkey," Kendall started in his 'Older Brother Warning Voice'. "I swear, if you get hurt Mom will kill me."

I just laughed. I skated backward at a faster rate this time, and propelled myself backward into the air, but Logan was right. I noticed, too late, that the momentum was different. As I swung my legs forward, counteracting the backwards motion of the skates, I slid and landed on my back. Luckily I was close to the ground so I just kind of skidded along the ice. The guys immediately rushed over and helped me up, asking if I was okay. I started laughing. I should have known better than to push it on the ice like that, especially now that I was an elite gymnast.

"Guys, seriously, I'm fine." I said, finally standing. Sure I would have bruises tomorrow, but currently there were no visible injuries.

"Ladybug…" James said in a disapproving tone.

"I know, I'm sorry."

James just cracked a smile and whispered, "You are one crazy Ladybug…" I kissed him.

"So, teams?" Logan asked, as I finished lacing up my skates.

"How about the same as last time?" Kendall offered. "We never really got to finish that game anyway, because _somebody_ cheated." Kendall gave me a look, reminding me of how the last time we played I picked up the puck and threw it at the net. It was a fair goal in my opinion.

"James, Carlos, and I would have won anyway." I told him.

"Oooo... Is that a bet, I hear coming on?" Carlos asked, always the one for bets.

"Losing team buys ice cream for the winning team?" James offered.

"No, it is way too cold out here for ice cream." I reminded him. "How about hot chocolate?" Everyone nodded their head in agreement. "Alright, game on!" James tossed me a hockey stick, then pulled me in for a quick kiss.

"Good luck." He told me, smiling. "Not that you'll need it."

"Not with you on my team." I told him.

"Hey!" Carlos yelled, feigning hurt feelings. "What about me?"

"Don't worry, you're helmet will supply all the luck we need." I said.

"Yeah, Man." James said, high-fiving Carlos. "We've got nothing to worry about."

"Oh, that's so cute, they actually think they're going to win." Kendall teased.

I laughed, "Oh, you're on!"

After about half an hour of battling it out, the teams were tied with a score of 3-3. No one was going easy on anyone. "Alright, next goal wins." Carlos said. All of us turned to him and gave him questioning looks. "What? It's cold and I want hot chocolate."

Logan and Kendall exchanged smug glances. "If you're too cold, you could always forfeit, and buy us hot chocolate." Logan offered.

I rolled my eyes, "He's fine." I shot him a look. "But I agree, next goal wins." The rest of the guys reluctantly agreed.

James had the puck on the far side of the rink and was quickly making his way toward the goal. He shot the puck to Carlos, but Kendall intercepted heading in the opposite direction. James caught on though, and they smashed into each other, tumbling down onto the ice. Before he went down completely though, James had desperately hit the puck in the direction of the goal, sending it flying into Carlos's helmet.

"Sorry, Buddy!" James shouted from where he and Kendall were on the ice.

"Thank you, Lucky Helmet!" Carlos cheered, momentarily distracted.

Thinking quickly, I raced after the puck, guiding it toward the goal. It almost reached the net when Logan stuck his puck in its path and sent if flying in the opposite direction. James and Kendall had just gotten up and quickly raced after the puck, ramming into each other the whole way. Logan passed the puck to Kendall and, before James could intercept it, Kendall shot the puck at the goal… and the puck went flying into the goal.

Kendall and Logan erupted into applause. They weren't going to let us forget that one for a while…

"Yay! Hot chocolate time!" Carlos cheered.

Despite a close loss, James still spun me around in circles on the ice. Then he stopped and pulled me in for a kiss in the freezing Minnesota air.

Author's Note: Wow… that was really long. I apologize! But I really hope you liked it! If you did… REVIEW! :) Thanks so much!


	8. Big Time Minnesota Part II

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever, and I won't bore you with the details of my busy life, but here is a new chapter! Read and enjoy!**

**Chapter eight. Big Time Minnesota (Part II).**

As I sat on the bench taking my skates off, I felt something hit me in the back of the head. Cold snow slid down my hat and rested between my neck and my coat. I immediately wiped it off and turned to see the guys, with their backs to me, trying to look busy. Carlos was whistling. It could have been any of them; they were clearly in on it together. So, that meant I could hit any one of them and it would be fair.

While they still had their backs turned, I made a quick snowball and launched it at my brother's head.

"Hey!" He yelled, shocked. Attempting to get the cold snow off of himself. He recovered fast though, and shot a snowball at me. I reacted quick enough so that it just missed my face.

While he was laughing, James threw a snowball at him. This launched a full out war between James and Kendall. A stray snowball hit Logan on the arm as he was cleaning up the hockey stuff. He abandoned the mess and threw snowballs at both Kendall and James. I don't know when it happened, but Carlos joined in the fight hitting Kendall and Logan. It was basically every man for himself, so I decided to join in. I couldn't resist a chance to throw freezing cold snowballs at the guys.

Ten minutes later we were all soaked. It was definitely time for some hot chocolate. We stopped at the neighborhood café where we used to hang out after school back when we lived in Minnesota. We quickly bought the hot chocolate and decided to walk around downtown for a little bit, while we drank our hot chocolate.

"I can't believe it was just a few years ago that we were here." I said, half-muttering it to myself.

"Yeah, and look how far we've come." James agreed, wrapping his arm around me. The wind started to pick up, sweeping the snow that was on the ground into the air.

As we passed one of the stores, Gustavo's famous Christmas song "Yard-Squirrel Christmas" came drifting out onto the sidewalk. We all laughed at the high pitched voices and the guys jokingly tried to sing along. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.

When we passed an electronics store that had TVs in the window, the newscaster said something that caught our attention.

"And it appears that the popular boy band Big Time Rush is back in Minnesota for the holidays." The screen switched from the newscaster to a video of Big Time Rush performing "Beautiful Christmas".

The guys started singing along, "Put down video games,

Pick up some candy canes

And hang a wreath on your door

Hey

Give back to those who need

Bring peace and harmony

Cause that's what Christmas is for…"

They were cut off by a high pitched voice screaming, "OMG! IT'S BTR!" This shout was followed by a chorus of cheers. The guys exchanged a look and I gave them a questioning look.

"Kendall?" I asked. He was always the one with a plan.

He simply said, "Run!"

We took off running in the opposite direction that the scream had come from. I risked a look back at the girls chasing us. The few girls had grown to a mob complete with BTR signs and fan girl t-shirts.

"What are we going to do?" I asked Kendall.

"I don't know- there!" We had just passed an ally when Kendall stopped dead in his tracks. Causing the rest of us to run into him. The ally looked like a dead end to me; there were no doors and there was a chain link fence at the end.

"Dumpster!" Carlos yelled, excitedly. I looked and yes, there was a dumpster.

As the guys opened the dumpster I realized what their plan was. "No." I said. "No way."

"Come on! They're going to be here any second!" Carlos whisper-screamed.

I shook my head and crossed my arms. "I am NOT getting in there…"

"Kayla, it's really not that bad." James tried to convince me. I just shook my head and stood my ground. That was a mistake. The guys got out of the dumpster and pulled me in. _Ewww_…. I took a deep breath just before I was pulled in. And then it was dark. Suddenly the screams got louder and louder. Then as they passed the ally, they got quieter and quieter. We waited until the screams died down and I finally got out, gasping for clean air.

Logan said, "That was a close one…"

That night, as I lay on the floor of James's living room, I couldn't help but smile. Carlos and Logan had insisted on sleeping over with us. It was just like old times. The five of us were all in sleeping bags in front of the TV watching my favorite Christmas movie of all time- It's A Wonderful Life.

"What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary."

Tomorrow was going to be Christmas Eve. Mrs. Diamond had arranged a flight for Kendall and I, so everything was finally sorted out. I smiled and soon fell asleep.

The next morning Kendall and I had gathered our things. We were ready to step outside and head to the airport. I was about to follow Kendall out the front door when James stopped me.

"What?" I questioned him. The five of us had decided to do our goodbyes at the airport, after all, we weren't going to be apart long- the guys were joining us in LA the day after Christmas.

All James did was point up. I looked to where he pointed and at the top of the door was mistletoe. I smiled and James pulled me into a kiss. We kissed under the mistletoe.

**So, what did you think? I hope you liked it! Please REVIEW! I need reviews to keep me inspired and to make sure I'm still writing a story you want to read :)**


	9. Big Time Christmas

**Author's note: Hello everyone! First off, I want to apologize for not updating in forever. I really lost inspiration and got caught up in school. Now that it's summer, I have a lot more time for writing. I can't promise that I'll update regularly, but I can tell you that I am doing my best! I hope you haven't given up on this story! You are going to like where it's going!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own BTR.**

**Chapter Nine. Big Time Christmas.**

The flight back to LA lasted four hours and the whole time I couldn't stop thinking about James. Kendall was being all antisocial and listening to his iPod. I guess I wasn't any better reading The Hunger Games, but I had at least tried to have a conversation with my brother. I think he was holding a grudge against me because I called the window seat.

When we stepped out of the airport, the bright Los Angeles sunlight warmed my skin and I had to put my sunglasses on to see anything. LA was such a stark contrast to London and I had missed it terribly.

We got to the Palm Woods around three in the afternoon. Mom was so excited to see Kendall and I that she started crying. "Tears of joy," she told us. I had forgotten that while I had been away at boarding school, Kendall had been travelling the world touring with BTR. Katie was beyond ecstatic to say the least. She had been without her siblings for a while and it definitely showed.

"Don't leave ever again." She said overly dramatically as she pulled us both into a hug.

"So, how was Minnesota?" Our mom asked.

Kendall and I looked at each other. I thought back to my crazy gymnastics ice stunts where I almost got killed, how we had to seek refuge in a dumpster to evade the crazy fan girls, and all the other things I didn't want my mom to know. "Oh, you know. Minnesota was Minnesota. Nothing much exciting happened.

Looking around the apartment I saw how decorated it was, but noticed that the tree was still undecorated and the stockings weren't hung up.

"Now that the whole family is here, why don't we finish decorating for Christmas?" Mom suggested. The three of us quickly agreed.

My favorite thing about Christmas is decorating the tree. As we unwrapped each ornament, all of the memories and stories came rushing back.

"Oh, look Katie! This one's from your very first Christmas!" I told her, handing over a soft pink ornament shaped like a teddy bear with her birthday on it.

"Oh! Do you guys remember this one?" Katie asked, holding up a Disney World ornament with a picture of Kendall, Katie, and I in front of Cinderella's castle.

"Kay, here's the gymnast." Kendall said, giving me my favorite ornament: a glass figure of a gymnast.

Mom smiled, "Oh, we got that one for you the Christmas you started gymnastics, didn't we?"

"Yeah," Katie agreed, "and we got Kendall that hockey one."

I always forgot how many ornaments us kids had made when we were younger- there was an angel made out of a clothes pin and coffee filter I had made for girl scouts, a snowflake Katie had made in kindergarten, a wooden tree Kendall had made, and countless others.

When the tree was finally decorated we hung up our stockings by the fireplace and sat down on the couch. Mom brought over a tray of beautifully decorated cookies. We put on a Christmas movie and turned off the lights. It felt so warm with the lights of the tree and my whole family surrounding me. I fell asleep with my head on Kendall's shoulder and my arms wrapped around Katie. I had missed my family so much when I was in London, it was so great for the four of us to all be together again.

Our mom woke us up a few hours later and ushered us off to our bedrooms. I put on my Christmas PJs- Red flannel pants with white snowflakes and a white and red long sleeved shirt- and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. It was so nice to be home.

I woke up the next morning to Katie jumping on my bed, shouting "It's Christmas!" I was so excited!

"Let's go wake Kendall up." I suggested, with a wink. The two of us snuck into Kendall's bedroom and started jumping on his bed. Kendall bolted upright as Katie and I screamed, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Then we all started laughing.

"Seriously? You couldn't let me sleep in on Christmas?" Kendall seemed kind of annoyed, but it was Christmas! I could tell that now that he was up, he wasn't going to try to fall back asleep. The smell of pancakes drifted through Kendall's bedroom door and the three of us headed to the kitchen.

Kendall was still half asleep as he mumbled, "Pancakes. Yum." when he sat down at the counter. We piled our chocolate chip pancakes high with strawberries and whip cream. Shortly after eating Kendall and Katie were buzzing around the apartment singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs. I tried to put my DVD of It's A Wonderful Life into the player, but Kendall intercepted the case.

He simply said, "No." and held the DVD case high above his head.

"Come on Kendall, it's Christmas morning." I whined. "We have to watch a Christmas movie!"

"Kayla, you think anytime from November through February is a good time to watch that movie. We just watched it last a few nights ago and I'm not watching it again."

I jumped a few times to try to reach it, but to no avail. I groaned, "You are so freakishly tall."

"And you're so freakishly short! Maybe if you could reach the DVD you could watch it." He started running around the apartment, almost running into the tree _twice_, with me right behind him.

"Kids!" Our mom screamed. "No running in the apartment! And it's Christmas so no fighting either. Kendall give your sister her DVD back, and Kayla, maybe we can watch it tonight."

Kendall reluctantly gave me the movie back and we all gathered around the Christmas tree for presents.

Half an hour later there was Christmas wrapping paper all over the floor. Kendall was playing his new hockey video game; Katie was playing with her new remote controlled helicopter that had a spy camera on it. Kendall and I had groaned when she opened it. I was wearing the new necklace I got. It was heart shaped with a cut out of a gymnast and the word "tumble" on it. I was so glad that Kendall and I had made it back for Christmas. The holidays would have been so lonely without our whole family together.

As I was putting away my new leotard, the phone rang. I made my way into the family room and sat down next to Kendall who was still enthralled with his video game. I kept trying to distract him and make him lose. Katie piloted her spy helicopter over to us and "accidently" hit Kendall on the head. He lost. Katie and I erupted in laughter and Kendall just glared at us.

Mom came back into the room and I could tell she was fighting back tears. The three f us immediately stopped joking around, knowing that something very serious had just happened.

"Mom are you okay?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Kendall's voice was full of worry, "Is everything alright?"

Mom shook her head and said, "I just got off the phone with your father's lawyer." She sounded on the verge of tears. "He wants to get visitation rights."

**Author's note: So there were some cute family moments for the Knight family. I hope you enjoyed them! Today, I realized that somehow a huge part of chapter 7 in Life is a Jungle Gym was left out in the version that I uploaded. That part was a huge inspiration for the upcoming chapters, but I'm not going to go back and re-upload it and make you guys re-read it. I'm going to kind of intertwine the left out part with the next chapter and give you some background info. So, bear with me if you are a little confused by the end of this chapter. **

**Also, please give me some feedback on this story. I know it's been a while, but overall, do you like this story? Is it better than Life is a Jungle Gym? Is there anything that you loved in that one that you want to see more of in this one? Thanks :)**


	10. Big Time Phone Call

**Author's Note: Thank you to LexidaLou for reviewing and to tamigirl for favoriting and following and to mUsIcLoVeRr3 for following! Hope the wait wasn't too long :)**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own BTR.**

**Chapter ten**. **Big Time Phone Call.**

**Recap**: "I just got off the phone with your father's lawyer." Mom sounded on the verge of tears. "He wants to get visitation rights."

"_What_?" Kendall and I asked at the same time.

After I recovered, I tried to form a more coherent question, "How- how can he do that?"

"_Can_ he do that?" Kendall questioned.

Mom nodded. "He is going to take this to court, but don't worry, I'm going to get a lawyer and we are going to fight this."

I shook my head, trying to make sense of what was happening. Why on earth did he want visitation rights? _He_ abandoned _us_ three years ago! And now he thinks he can just walk back into our lives as if nothing happened? I won't let him! I hate him!

I got up and ran. I had no clue where I was headed; all I knew was that I was going to suffocate if I had to stay in the apartment any longer. I just had to get away. I could hear Kendall shouting after me as I left.

I passed the scarcely decorated lobby and wondered how he could ruin Christmas like this. The Palm Woods was all but deserted. Before I knew it, I was in a park. Tears were falling down my face and I collapsed against a tree.

I couldn't believe that after three years he suddenly wanted to be with us. He left us and tore our family apart. I could never forgive him for that.

I remember the day he left so clearly. I was at one of my many gymnastics meets. This one was at the gym that I trained at, so Mom, Dad, Kendall, and Katie all came to cheer me on. They always stayed until the end, but this time Dad didn't.

I was about to do my beam routine when I saw Dad suddenly get up and leave. I looked to my mom and saw that she had tears in her eyes. I knew something must be terribly wrong. I put two and two together, and realized that he wasn't going to come back this time. That beam routine was that worst routine I've ever done, and that includes the time I had a sprained ankle.

Mom divorced him soon after and thankfully got full custody of us kids. We haven't seen him since, and now all of a sudden he wants to get back into our lives. I just didn't understand.

"Why did he have to ruin Christmas?" I wondered aloud. I wished that I was back at the gym so I could take out my frustration on my floor routine.

I heard footsteps approaching from behind the tree. I turned just as Kendall sat down silently next to me and wrapped his arm around me. After Dad left, Kendall stepped up and took over the fatherly role in our house. He became someone to lean on when things got hard.

We sat there under the tree for a long while before either of us was brave enough t break the silence.

I finally told Kendall, "Thanks." I was not only thanking him for coming after me, but for always being strong and knowing what to do.

"That's what big brothers are for." He said with a slight smile. "Why did you leave?"

I shook my head. "I just- I couldn't handle it. I felt like I was going to suffocate if I stayed there any longer. All of a sudden there was this huge weight on my shoulders, and I couldn't stand it. I just had to get away."

Kendall nodded, understanding. "I know that this is hard for you, but you're not alone. Katie and I are going through the same thing. Alright?" I nodded. "I'm always here for you, Monkey. You know that right?"

It was then that I realized that Kendall was hurting, too. He hadn't just come out here to comfort me; he's come out here because he didn't want anyone to be alone. I hugged my brother tight and didn't want to let go.

"Kayla," I was startled by his use of my first name. He almost always called me 'Monkey'. "…He wants us to visit him."

"I know." I said harshly.

"No. I mean, he wants us to meet with him before all of the court stuff." Kendall's face looked pained as he explained. "He wants to have lunch with us at his place. Soon."

I jumped up, "What?"

Kendall remained where he was, at the base of the tree, and started picking at the grass. "Mom says that it's our decision. That we don't have to go."

"Good." I emphasized.

We were quiet for a while, then, "It's been three years." Kendall's face was scrunched up in an attempt not to cry, and that right there was enough for me to fall apart once again. I curled back up next to Kendall. "_Three years_. And, what? Now he suddenly cares about us?" He was tearing up the grass and throwing it, now. I knew exactly how he felt.

A little while later, after we had both calmed down a bit, we decided to head back to the apartment.

As soon as Kendall and I walked through the door of apartment 2J, I felt the depressing mood that was so not Christmas. It was usually a day we spent reminiscing about past Christmases and watching our old Christmas home videos, but somehow I knew that seeing our dad in those videos wasn't as good idea.

The day seemed to pass in a blur. The Christmas music seemed too cheery. The garland seemed too harsh. Even the lights on the Christmas tree seemed too bright. It just didn't feel like Christmas.

**Author's note: So, a very different Christmas than what Kayla and everyone expected. Hopefully it wasn't too depressing. Don't worry, next chapter will have a much better mood :) Please REVIEW! I love hearing what you guys think of it, even if it's just "good" or bugging me to update soon. It lets me know that people are actually reading this. Thanks!**


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